JON PAUL GALLERY

Evening Cloud Reflections Panorama - Lake Tahoe

Late in the Fall (2010) Lake Tahoe was graced with a lot of stormy weather and dramatic skies. I happen to be a fan of softer, more pastel colored skies, as opposed to the over the top neon colors that have huge “wow-factor” (but I find hard to live with). This particular evening I visited the shore of Lake Tahoe to observe the sunset. While I enjoyed the softness of the sky, I wasn’t drawn to any particular foreground / background combination. I was, however, drawn to the reflection of the sky. The water turned my pastel “painting” into a water color. A bit of detail below the water adds a hint of perspective. This is the type of tranquility nature brings to me, and I hope to share with you. Enjoy!
(this image now available to collectors)

Photo Tip:
Remember, rules are a good starting point for composing images (they became rules for a reason), but the most important aspect of landscape photography as art is, paying attention to how the image makes you feel. The image above has no real foreground or background. I did, however, pay attention to the colors, tones and shapes in the image to make sure it had a natural flow and conveyed what I was feeling. I believe this image works because, it makes me feel the way I felt when I experienced this beautiful evening in person. Remember, it is easy to get caught up in technical minutia in this age of digital art. Try to put the technical aspects aside (or relax after you have mastered the basics) and focus on that feeling that gets you out the door to begin with!

Equipment:
Canham 5×7 Metal Field Camera with 6×17 cm panoramic back, 210mm lens, Fuji Provia RDPIII transparency film, Singh Ray LB Warming Polarizer, Gitzo 1325 carbon tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head, Hasselblad/Imacon 646 virtual drum scanner.

In a departure from my methodical large format film process and tack sharp realistic imagery, I decided to experiment with photo-impressionism using my digital SLR. I was able to create this unique image as the fall colors were on the decline, but my desire to be outside creating images was not. My intention was to create a series of painterly images that depicted an other worldly view of the forests into which I escape. Using a long exposure and controlled linear motion with the camera I was able to create the feeling of a forest having been created in the imagination and brought to life with the stroke of a painters brush. Adding to the surreal feeling, I used the saturation function with selective colors in PhotoShop and punched up the colors to depart further from the usual.

This experience accentuated the fact that a solid understanding of the foundations of photographic technique enables us to experiment with alternative visions and produce successful photographic images. This is something I stress to my seminar and photo tour students that first become buried in (and overwhelmed by) the concepts of digital art while overlooking the the basic photographic techniques that enable them to create the imagery they wish to work with in the first place.

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Enjoy my images painted with light!